It's Dracula; I find it hard to believe that you could find many adults in the United States, nay, across the world, who haven't heard of the mythical figure. It all started with this novel, and because of that, it has to be one of the most legendary horror stories ever to be written. That being said, it didn't need to be 400 pages long of repetitive prose that probably could have been shortened to 200 pages and improved the reading experience greatly. That isn't how stories were written back then, typically though, so it's an understandable fallacy, and there are some really great parts of this novel. Dracula is perfectly and remarkably evil, as Stephen King said, maybe one of the best villains to ever be written. The love prose is sweet and pure in a way that I find hard to find replicas in modern literature, too. Is that because we're all skeptical of pure devotion in the modern world? Can relationships really be as perfect as Mina and Harker's? I don't have the answers to these questions, but it's refreshing that Stoker at least wanted us to believe that it was possible. Too bad I don't actually believe in good and bad; Stoker sure does make you feel satisfied that the "good guys" win.
Primarily read because: Over 1 million ratings challenge, and I mean, its Dracula.
Ambrose
